Though there have been great advancements in the progression of modern medicine, the practice is actually very old, even dating back to the Babylonian period almost 4,000 years ago. In fact the first form of surgery was performed almost 7,000 years ago in France. Though the practice of administering chemicals in an attempt to cure disease and illness, early medicine was based much more on what we would consider to be natural remedies rather than clinical drugs which are used now.

The Egyptians also had very progressive ideas about medicine for their time. They were known to be incredibly healthy and even had an early form of a public health system. Around 3000 years ago the Babylonians wrote a book called Diagnostic Handbook. It had a surprisingly modern approach to medicine, which included examining the patient, as a doctor would now, to try and diagnose the illness from which they were suffering. As with many things in the modern world, the Ancient Greeks made huge advances in modern medicine and operating. They even administered an early form or anaesthetic but it was likely that they used opium or opium-like drugs.

From the Renaissance onwards, with the world focusing much more on education, medicine began to develop rapidly. One example is neurology which began to develop in the 16th century. The Age of Enlightenment was another period which was highly beneficial to medicine. At this time great development in science were occurring. The twentieth century has brought about the most revolution in medicine, not least with the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928.

We now have the ability to cure and treat a range of illnesses that were one life threatening. But, though we have come a long way, there are still many developments to be made in medicine in the future.